Vol. 500 No. 3
112 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason he is not facilitating the opening of the planned Meánscoil Lán Ghaelach for the Dublin north east region in September 1999 in view of the fact that he promised to ensure the establishment of this school by September 1999 during an Adjournment debate on 23 June 1998. [3956/99]
The position is that an application was received in my Department from a local group, An Fochoiste Meánoideachais and City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee, regarding the provision of an all Irish second level school in north east Dublin. The proposed location of the school was a site adjacent to Scoil Neasáin in Artane.
An examination of the need for such facility was carried out by the planning section of my Department. The result indicated a significant level of demand arising from increased all-Irish provision at primary school level in this area in recent years. An assessment carried out by the technical staff of my Department revealed that, at 1.2 acres, the proposed site adjacent to Scoil Neasáin would be totally inadequate as a location for a permanent school building.
I accept that some pupils in north east Dublin may experience inconvenience in terms of distance to an existing all-Irish second level school. My Department will continue to work with An Fochoiste Meánoideachais and City of Dublin VEC to develop an appropriate response at the earliest possible date.
